Gooner TalkThe Home of Arsenal News and Views2015-07-18T00:37:46Zhttp://goonertalk.com/feed/atom/WordPressChris Wheatleyhttp://goonertalk.comhttp://goonertalk.com/?p=140082015-07-18T00:37:46Z2015-07-18T00:32:27Z

Turkish giants Galatasaray are confident of bringing a second Arsenal player to the club this summer, with talks over the signing of Mathieu Flamini scheduled for next week.

The 31-year-old, who was largely used as a substitute last season, is in the final year of his contract at Emirates Stadium and Hamza Hamzaoglu’s side have identified him as the ideal man to rival Felipe Melo in defensive midfield.

Despite facing stiff midfield competition from the likes of Francis Coquelin, Santi Cazorla, Aaron Ramsey, Mikel Arteta and Jack Wilshere, Flamini recently reiterated his desire to fight for his place at the club.

“I don’t like to give up that easily,” said the Frenchman. “In football everything can move very easily one way and another. I don’t like to look back at the past. We are starting a new season and I’m focused on that one.

“I played a lot in the first part of the season and then I got injured in January and after that the team has been winning nearly every game, so it’s difficult to complain. Everything will be open and I will work hard to get my place back.”

Gala representative Cenk Ergun is expected to travel to London for talks with Arsenal officials next week where he’s expected to table a bid in the region of £2.5m for the ex-AC Milan player.

Flamini won’t be short of friends in Istanbul if he does decide to leave this summer, with Lukas Podolski joining the club last month and Emmanuel Eboue leaving for the Super Lig side in 2011.

Arsenal legend Thierry Henry insists that the Gunners need to sign four players in the summer transfer window if they want to challenge Chelsea for the Premier League title next season.

The North London giants have already brought in goalkeeper Petr Cech this summer, but Henry believes Arsene Wenger’s side need greater squad depth across the pitch.

Wenger has said he’s prepared to add an “exceptional” talent to the Arsenal squad with both Karim Benzema and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang both being touted as potential signings in recent days.

“That team, I think, has great mentality, top-quality players and match-winners. I still think they need four players to get closer to Chelsea,” Henry told Sky Sports News.

“I think we need an additional centre back, and an additional holding midfielder – even though [Francis] Coquelin has been amazing. He gave the team balance last season”, Henry told GQ in a separate interview.

“We also need another goalkeeper [since this interview Arsenal have signed Petr Cech] and we also need another top quality striker.

“I know I have been quoted as saying “you can’t win the league with [Olivier] Giroud up front” but I meant with him alone. He needs help. Because you can’t do it on your own: there have been seasons when I have scored 25 league goals plus in the past [for Arsenal] and still not won the title.”

Former France international Henry made 377 appearances for the Gunners, scoring a club record 228 goals in the process.

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]]>4Michael Cagehttp://goonertalk.com/?p=139912015-07-17T23:47:46Z2015-06-03T08:44:51Z2014-15 proved another disappointing season in the Champions League for Arsenal as they were unceremoniously dumped out of the competition by AS Monaco – arguably the weakest side in the second round.

It was a fifth consecutive season that Arsene Wenger’s side were eliminated at this stage of Europe’s elite club cup competition.

This despite Arsenal putting in a great string of results during the second half of the Premier League season.

Much improvement needs to be made over the summer if the Gunners are to reach the quarter-finals, let-alone be an outside shot at winning the Champions League for the first time in their history. Champions League betting with FreeBets puts them as 10th favourites at 20/1 to lift the trophy at the San Siro.

The Premier League on a whole has struggled over the past few seasons, with the exception of Roberto Di Matteo’s miraculous success in 2012. English football sides currently falling far short of the likes of Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid. Two of the top three finishing sides in the 2014-15 Premier League were even eliminated by French Ligue 1 opposition.

If Arsenal are to put up any challenge for next season’s Champions League, Arsene Wenger needs to spend big this summer, in these key positions:

Goalkeeper
David Ospina may have had a good record in his 17 Premier League appearances in his debut season, and wasn’t given a chance in any of the three goals he conceded versus Monaco at the Emirates. However, the Colombian doesn’t weight up with the best goalkeepers in Europe – he looks like he has a few clangers in him, and hasn’t fared too well with crosses and set pieces during his first 12 months in England. Wenger may want to go all out in trying to lure Petr Cech to the North London this summer.

Centre-back
Per Mertesacker’s pace was really exposed in the Champions League this season, as well as domestically. The German has a mixture of great performances and terrible mistakes – Wenger cannot afford a centre-back like this when playing against the top sides. Gabriel Paulista was brought in during the winter transfer window but many Arsenal fans still feel they need a World Class centre-back alongside Laurent Koscielny next season.

Left-back
Another weakness in defence for Arsenal last season was no the left side. Arsene Wenger doesn’t appear to know who his stronger left-back is and we don’t believe he has much faith in either Kieran Gibbs or Nacho Monreal. The Gunners can be expected to invest in a new one this summer – but will Wenger land a top player in this position that will improve them in Europe next season?

Holding midfield
Francis Coquelin was somewhat of a revelation when he came into the first team at the end of December. However, Arsenal were woefully exposed in the first leg of their Champions League tie against Monaco. The young midfielder’s inexperienced has certainly shown – whether or not he’ll improve over the first half of next season remains to be seen but Arsene Wenger can certainly upgrade on Mikel Arteta and Mathieu Flamini there. As Jose Mourinho successfully does with his Chelsea squad, play two defensive-minded midfielders in front of the back four in the big games – Wenger can learn a thing or two from the Portuguese maestro.

Striker
Olivier Giroud missed the group stages of the Champions League through injury but when he did feature in the knock out rounds the 28-year-old was a massive part of their fall at the first hurdle. The French striker missed key opportunities in both legs versus Monaco as they went out on the away goals rule. With little competition for the striker role at the Emirates, Wenger has few other options. He needs to spend big on a striker this summer if they’re to compete in Europe in 2015-16.

Jack Wilshere is adored by Arsenal fans and when you see his celebrations at today’s FA Cup victory parade, there’s no real surprise why.

The England midfielder famously led the anti-Tottenham chants at the club’s parade outside Emirates Stadium last year and he repeated the sing-song again during Sunday’s event.

Wilshere sung the famous ‘What do we think of Tottenham? S***’ chant before singing ‘It’s happened again!’ in reference to Arsenal finishing above Mauricio Pochettino’s side in the Premier League for another year.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is keen on completing his summer transfer business earlier than usual, according to reports.

The Gunners boss has identified Morgan Schneiderlin and Jackson Martinez as the club’s main targets for next season – with the latter reportedly agreeing terms ahead of a move.

Southampton midfielder Schneiderlin has been tracked by Arsenal for several seasons and the Telegraph claim that Wenger’s side are in pole position to sign him this summer.

Martinez, who has a release clause of £24.8 million, is expected to be brought in to bolster Arsenal’s attacking options and has reportedly agreed a deal ‘in principle’ to join the north London giants.

]]>0Michael Cagehttp://goonertalk.com/?p=139662015-06-01T14:05:35Z2015-05-08T14:21:32ZArsenal are in pole position to wrap up second position as they head into the weekend level on points with Manchester City, with a game in hand of last season’s champions – both sides five points ahead of Manchester United.

Swansea City have already set a club record for the most points collected in a single Premier League season and Garry Monk’s side still have an outside chance of finishing in the top six.

The Gunners were comfortable winners at Hull City last Monday and will be looking to follow that up with three more points this Monday. If you are traveling to London to watch this game or any future Arsenal game and you need a hotel room near the Emirates, check TravelMag.com’s hotel picks.

Team News

Arsenal

A hamstring injury will keep Mathieu Debuchy out of action again this weekend but the French right-back is the only defender absent for the hosts.

Mikel Arteta has a couple of weeks’ practice under his belt now and could be ready to make his return after a long layoff. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is also awaiting to make his comeback from a hamstring injury.

The England international’s chances of featuring on Monday have been increased with Aaron Ramsey being a slight doubt. The Welsh midfielder has been playing on the right wing of late.

Another candidate to play on the right, Danny Welbeck, is also a doubt for this match.

Predicted Lineups

David Ospina has won 12 of his 14 Premier League matches and is still yet to concede a goal in the first half of any of those matches. The Colombian is expected to remain Arsenal’s first choice for the remaining three games, but it’s whether Arsène Wenger plays him in the FA Cup final that is the big question. Héctor Bellerín should continue on the right and Nacho Monreal on the left of Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker. Santi Cazorla has been partnering Francis Coquelin in front of the back four. Theo Walcott could make a rare start on the right this season with Ramsey a doubt and Oxlade-Chamberlain perhaps not ready to start. Mesut Özil has been in good form lately, whilst Alexis Sánchez is coming off a brace at Hull. Olivier Giroud is the best option up front.

Łukasz Fabiański is set to make his return to the Emirates after leaving last summer to become Swansea City’s first choice. Àngel Rangel, Federico Fernández, Ashley Williams and Neil Taylor are likely to be the back four. Gylfi Sigurðsson and Ki Sung-yeung have been two of the stars in the Swans’ midfield this season. Jonjo Shelvey is protecting the defence these days, whilst Jack Cork sees a lot of the ball in midfield. The pacey Jefferson Montero should start on the left, supporting striker Bafétimbi Gomis who has scored a couple recently.

Key Matchups

Alexis Sánchez vs Àngel Rangel
Alexis Sánchez scored two more goals versus Hull City on Monday night as his runs behind the defence really caused problems at the KC Stadium. The Chilean could do the same this Monday if Àngel Rangel and Federico Fernández don’t sit back. Swansea fans have every right to fear this Arsenal attack opening up their defence and with the playmakers in midfield supporting Sánchez we expect him to do some damage.

Mesut Özil vs Jonjo Shelvey
Aside from a few strong challenges, there are question marks as to whether Jonjo Shelvey should be playing a more defensive role. The former Liverpool man doesn’t have the best positional sense and that could be exposed with the good form Mesut Özil is in. The German will also be supported by Santi Cazorla who has been controlling the game and creating chances for teammates in several games this season. The possibility of Arsenal overpowering this Swansea midfield could be on the cards.

Santi Cazorla vs Ki Sung-yeung
In order for Arsenal not to dominate the possession, Swansea are going to have to tightly-mark Santi Cazorla and limit his possession. If that is not Bafétimbi Gomis’ duty then it could come down to Ki Sung-yeung to protect his side. The Gunners’ Spanish playmaker gets forward from midfield, likes the occasional long range effort and has the ability to open up defences with either foot. Don’t be surprised if Cazorla is heavily involved in a number of Arsenal’s attacks on Monday.

Key Stats

1 – Arsenal have lost just one of their last 34 Premier League matches at the Emirates Stadium (W24, D9).

5 – Arsène Wenger has never named the same starting XI for five consecutive Premier League games. He has the opportunity to do so on Monday.

53 – Swansea City have recorded more points this season than they have in any other previous Premier League campaign.

“We had a great team spirit and were a fantastic team before I left for Barcelona. I miss those days.”

Currently plying his trade for Turkish side Gençlerbirliği, the diminutive playmaker scored seven goals in 89 Premier League games for Arsenal between 2005 and 2008.

Here’s a reminder of exactly what Hleb brought to Arsenal:

]]>0Michael Cagehttp://goonertalk.com/?p=139532015-06-01T14:04:29Z2015-03-13T07:34:56ZArsenal welcome West Ham to the Emirates for a 3pm kickoff on Saturday.

Three points will do the home side very well in their face to finish in the top four, starting the weekend in third position.

Sam Allardyce could do with a result to fence off the growing pressure that surrounds him following only one win in his last 11 Premier League games.

If you’re visiting London and need an affordable room near the Emirates Stadium, check www.cheaprooms.co.uk for the best options.

Form

Arsenal WWWLW

Arsenal have actually won four straight in the Premier League and six domestically, but their defeat at home to AS Monaco in the first leg of their Champions League second round tie shows up in the formbook.

West Ham LLDLD

The Hammers are without a win in their last seven games in all competitions and have taken just three points once from their last 11 Premier League games.

Head-to-Head

Arsenal have won the last eight Premier League games between these two and 11 of the last 13, drawing the other two.

Team News

The hosts will be without Mathieu Debuchy, Gabriel Paulista, Mikel Arteta, Jack Wilshere, Abou Diaby and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are all injured, whilst Tomáš Rosický is a doubt. Wenger’s side do have Mathieu Flamini back in contention after nearly a month out injured.

West Ham centre-backs Winston Reid and James Tomkins are injured and right-back Carl Jenkinson is ineligible to face his parent club. Up front, Andy Carroll and Carlton Cole are both injured and Enner Valencia is a doubt. That leaves Sam Allardyce with only Diafra Sakho and Nenê to play up front in his 4-3-1-2 formation.

Key Matchup

Alexis Sánchez vs Guy Demel
One of the contenders for the Premier League Player of the Year award comes up against 33-year old backup right back Guy Demel on Saturday. West Ham’s Ivorian has started only three Premier League games this season. Despite Alexis Sánchez scoring just one goal in his last nine games in all competitions, Arsenal will surely be looking towards their Chilean as a match winner from out wide with West Ham likely to crowd the middle of the pitch. His ability and favourable matchup give Sánchez a good opportunity to do just that.

Prediction

Arsenal 3-1 West Ham
Arsène Wenger’s side haven’t been hitting on all cylinders but with West Ham missing three-quarters of their defence and two key attackers, we expect the home time to pick up all three points before they head off to Monaco.

Jon Toral will do everything he can to earn himself a contract extension at Arsenal.

The Spanish starlet, currently on-loan at Championship high-flyers Brentford, has recently seized his chances with the Griffin Park outfit – scoring an impressive hat trick against Blackpool last week.

Toral, 20, left Barcelona’s La Masia academy in 2011 alongside his close friend Hector Bellerin to move to north London and fullfil his aspiration to play in the Premier League.

With Bellerin now nailing down the right-back spot at Emirates Stadium, a determined Toral remains convinced that he will follow a similar path if he continues to work hard at Brentford.

“It would be a dream to play in the Arsenal first-team and to play with Hector. I have already played some friendlies with them but I am yet to make my debut,” he said.

“My contract at Arsenal is due to expire in the summer but they have an option to renew me (automatically). I am working hard to make the decision easier for them.”

So what kind of player is Toral? How has he performed at Brentford so far this season? Is he good enough for the Arsenal first team?

We caught up with Brentford season-ticket holder Jack Bolas – who hasn’t missed a game since 2013 – and got the lowdown on the Gunners’ latest Spanish prospect.

“Toral’s performances have been really encouraging and fitted into our attacking, high-tempo style of play. The majority of his appearances have been off the substitutes bench due to our array of midfield options – but he’s provided a good impact when brought on.

“He’s played best when deployed in advanced positions – especially centrally – but has also played in central midfield. In my opinion, Toral is the best passer of the ball at the club.

“Toral is well respected at Brentford and would almost certainly be a regular starter if it weren’t for our other options in advanced positions. I think he’ll get a run in the team until the end of the season now.

“He’s not Arsenal quality just yet but a productive loan spell in the Championship could see him get closer to their first team squad.”